Starbucks, Anheuser-Busch to partner on bottled Teavana teas

An employee pours tealeaves at the newly opened Teavana tea bar in New York.

Anheuser-Busch and Starbucks announced a deal on Thursday to produce, bottle, distribute and market Teavana ready-to-drink teas in the United States, with products expected to be available in the first half of next year.

The world's biggest coffee chain bought tea seller Teavana in 2012. The bottled teas falling under Starbucks' agreement with the maker of Budweiser beer will not contain alcohol.

Anheuser-Busch will lead production, bottling and distribution to retailers nationwide in partnership with its established network of wholesalers, the companies said.

Starbucks and joint venture partner PepsiCo Inc market, sell and distribute ready-to-drink coffee products in the United States. PepsiCo already has a ready-to-drink tea partner. It joined with Unilever in 1991 to form the Pepsi-Lipton Tea partnership.